Disney World vs. Disneyland

A lot of people have been asking me the question: “Which do you like better, Disney World or Disneyland?” And in all honesty, I don’t think I can pick one over the other. They are both special and unique in their own ways. Disney World has more parks, but Disneyland is more compact and easy to get around. Even the feel of each of them is different. It’s hard to pit Disney World vs. Disneyland!

The Differences

For those of you more familiar with one park over the others, let me highlight some of the key differences:

Disneyland is much, much smaller in area. It has two parks (Disneyland, which is similar to the Magic Kingdom, and California Adventure). The parks, Downtown Disney, and the three Disney hotels are all within walking distance. On the other hand, Disney World has many hotels, four theme parks, 2 water parks, Downtown Disney, etc., and most aren’t walkable – though they do offer a bus system between locations.

You’ll find many different rides on each coast. While there is some overlap (and I’ll get to that more below), for the most part there are very few rides that are carbon copies of each other.

With only 3 hotels in California, all of which are pretty expensive, you see a ton of “Good Neighbor Hotels” owned by other companies which are very close by, many also within walking distance.

Disneyland does not offer complimentary transportation to and from the airport – Disney World does.

Disneyland is not using the new MyMagic+ system you’ll see in Disney World. They have fastpass machines with paper tickets (like the old ones at Disney World), and no magic bands.

Disney World does a lot more to separate its cast members from the guests to preserve the magic. It was odd for us to be in Disneyland walking out of the parks and down the streets of Anaheim with a cast member in full costume right beside us!

The characters are less structured at Disneyland, which leads to fun interactions.

And yes, the castle at Disneyland is much smaller. It’s still beautiful though.

If someone absolutely made me choose, saying I could only ever visit one of them again, I would pick Disney World – but I think that’s because it feels more like “my” park because I’ve been there so many times. Plus I love Epcot and Animal Kingdom and Disneyland doesn’t have anything like that. But Disneyland is so special because it’s Walt’s park. I honestly just love them both.

The Rides and Attractions

That being said, there are some rides that appear in both Disney World and Disneyland, often slightly different, and those I can compare! Here is the list of rides that you’ll find on both coasts:

The ones I marked with an asterisk are ones that are basically identical in each place. The other major ones I experienced I would like to do a blog series on comparing the two. So look for that in the next couple of weeks! Is the attraction better at Disney World or Disneyland?

Are you curious to hear how the attractions stack in Disney World vs. Disneyland? Let me know in the comments!

Related

Comments

Great post! I definitely prefer Disney World, but after being a Cast Member there for a year it holds a rather special place in my heart of course 🙂 Being a guest there is special from the moment you leave the airport, thanks to the (free) Magical Express! I miss it so much every day 🙂

California does have the advantage of a lot of nearby and cheaper hotels, plus their ticket prices are lower since they only have 2 parks (and you would probably need a longer vacation in Florida to do everything, thus saving more money!). For me over here on the east coast Florida tends to be a cheaper trip for me just because the airfare is so crazy high to California.

You’re not the only one! Disneyland is the original park that Walt Disney built, and it’s in California. Then the company decided to build a second park – that one is Disney World, and it’s in Florida.

I must say, my family grew up visiting Disneyland in California, and that is a place that I will always hold near and dear to my heart. I remember finally visiting Disney World years later, and being upset at how spread out everything felt.
Either way though, you’re bound to have a great time!

I’m sure the fact that I’m a little partial to Disney World is because I grew up with it! I honestly did love them both, I just missed that “Disney bubble” feeling or not having to interact with the outside world, haha.

This was a fun read. I remember the first time I went to Disney World, I was bummed they didn’t have a madahorn (I know I’m a great speller). The trip we are taking in November will be my first time seeing the new additions to Fantasy Land. So excited!

Yeah. I have to say, there was something magical about walking around the actual park that Walt built. Would I have loved Disneyland as much if I’d not first spent SO MUCH TIME in Disney World? I don’t know. But I did love how quickly one could get a taxi back to one’s super cheap hotel room.

About Me

Hi, I'm Becky!

I'm a huge Disney fan in my early 30's and always trying to find a way to put a little bit of Disney into everyday life. I live in Pennsylvania but travel to the theme parks several times a year - I'm an annual passholder at Disney World! In addition to Disney I love traveling, running, and theater.

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